1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to minimally packaged semiconductor devices having a protective layer of material on the active surfaces thereof and, more specifically, to the use of stereolithography to fabricate protective layers on the active surfaces of semiconductor device components. More particularly, the invention pertains to a method for fabricating protective structures on at least the active surfaces of semiconductor devices at the wafer level.
Minimally Packaged Semiconductor Devices
2. State of the Art
The large-scale production of particular types of semiconductor devices poses problems peculiar to the type of die, electronic circuits, external connectors and packaging. So-called “flip-chip” dice comprise electronic devices formed on a semiconductor substrate whose integrated circuitry terminates in an array of conductive sites on a die's active surface, which conductive sites are typically referred to as “bond pads.” External conductive structures exemplified by well-known solder “bumps” or “balls” are attached to the bond pads. In use, the flip-chip die is inverted, positioned atop a substrate with contact pads matching the locations of the conductive structures of the die, and the conductive structures bonded to the contact pads of the substrate. Chip scale, flip-chip configured packages are also typically disposed face down over a higher-level substrate with which the chip scale packages are to be connected.
In order to fabricate flip-chip dice in large quantities, several semiconductor dice are simultaneously fabricated on a wafer. The wafer is then scribed or sawn into individual dice, and finishing operations including packaging are conducted on the singulated dice.
It is typically desirable to apply a supportive or protective layer on at least the active surfaces of semiconductor devices, such as flip-chip type dice and chip scale packages, that will be disposed face down over a higher-level substrate. Polymers, glass, and other electrically nonconductive materials can be applied to one or both major surfaces of such semiconductor devices. Conventionally, such layers are applied to a surface of a semiconductor device prior to attaching conductive structures to contact pads exposed at that surface. As the contact pads must be exposed through the layer so conductive structures can be secured to the contact pads, openings must also be formed in the layer to accommodate the subsequent attachment of conductive structures. Thus, an etching or other more complex additional process step is required.
When conventional techniques are employed to form a protective layer on a surface of a semiconductor device, it is difficult to form the protective layer when conductive structures have already been secured to the contact pads because of the close packing and small interstitial spacing between the conductive structures on state of the art semiconductor devices. If introduced onto the surface over the conductive structures, the material of the supportive or protective layer will have to be removed from the conductive structures. If introduced between the conductive structures, air pockets and voids can form in the layer of supportive or protective material.
Moreover, air pockets or voids can form when a so-called “underfill” material is introduced between a semiconductor device and a carrier substrate upon which the semiconductor device is disposed in face-down orientation. Although a vacuum may be used to draw the underfill into the interstices between the semiconductor device and the substrate, air pockets and voids nevertheless often persist in the underfill material. Thus, underfill layers with air pockets or voids may not completely support or protect the die or the conductive structures secured to the bond pads thereof. Furthermore, the use of a vacuum introduces undesirable additional complexity and time to the manufacturing process.
Accordingly, there is a need for a process by which supportive or protective layers can be formed on or applied to semiconductor devices without significantly increasing fabrication time and cost while producing a substantially uniform, solid, uninterrupted layer between contact pads of the semiconductor device or conductive structures secured thereto.
Stereolithography
In the past decade, a manufacturing technique termed “stereolithography,” also known as “layered manufacturing,” has evolved to a degree where it is employed in many industries.
Essentially, stereolithography, as conventionally practiced, involves utilizing a computer to generate a three-dimensional (3D) mathematical simulation or model of an object to be fabricated, such generation usually effected with 3D computer-aided design (CAD) software. The model or simulation is mathematically separated or “sliced” into a large number of relatively thin, parallel, usually vertically superimposed layers, each layer having defined boundaries and other features associated with the model (and thus the actual object to be fabricated) at the level of that layer within the exterior boundaries of the object. A complete assembly or stack of all of the layers defines the entire object, and surface resolution of the object is, in part, dependent upon the thickness of the layers.
The mathematical simulation or model is then employed to generate an actual object by building the object, layer by superimposed layer. A wide variety of approaches to stereolithography by different companies has resulted in techniques for fabrication of objects from both metallic and non-metallic materials. Regardless of the material employed to fabricate an object, stereolithographic techniques usually involve disposition of a layer of unconsolidated or unfixed material corresponding to each layer within the object boundaries, followed by selective consolidation or fixation of the material to at least a partially consolidated, or semisolid, state in those areas of a given layer corresponding to portions of the object, the consolidated or fixed material also at that time being substantially concurrently bonded to a lower layer of the object to be fabricated. The unconsolidated material employed to build an object may be supplied in particulate or liquid form, and the material itself may be consolidated or fixed or a separate binder material may be employed to bond material particles to one another and to those of a previously formed layer. In some instances, thin sheets of material may be superimposed to build an object, each sheet being fixed to a next-lower sheet and unwanted portions of each sheet removed, a stack of such sheets defining the completed object. When particulate materials are employed, resolution of object surfaces is highly dependent upon particle size, whereas when a liquid is employed, surface resolution is highly dependent upon the minimum surface area of the liquid which can be fixed and the minimum thickness of a layer that can be generated. Of course, in either case, resolution and accuracy of object reproduction from the CAD file is also dependent upon the ability of the apparatus used to fix the material to precisely track the mathematical instructions indicating solid areas and boundaries for each layer of material. Toward that end, and depending upon the layer being fixed, various fixation approaches have been employed, including particle bombardment (electron beams), disposing a binder or other fixative (such as by ink-jet printing techniques), or irradiation using heat or specific wavelength ranges.
An early application of stereolithography was to enable rapid fabrication of molds and prototypes of objects from CAD files. Thus, either male or female forms: on which mold material might be disposed can be rapidly generated. Prototypes of objects might be built to verify the accuracy of the CAD file defining the object and to detect any design deficiencies and possible fabrication problems before a design is committed to large-scale production.
In more recent years, stereolithography has been employed to develop and refine object designs in relatively inexpensive materials, and has also been used to fabricate small quantities of objects where the cost of conventional fabrication techniques is prohibitive for same, such as in the case of plastic objects conventionally formed by injection molding. It is also known to employ stereolithography in the custom fabrication of products generally built in small quantities or where a product design is rendered only once. Finally, it has been appreciated in some industries that stereolithography provides a capability to fabricate products, such as those including closed interior chambers or convoluted passageways, which cannot be fabricated satisfactorily using conventional manufacturing techniques. It has also been recognized in some industries that a stereolithographic object or component may be formed or built around another, pre-existing object or component to create a larger product.
However, to the inventor's knowledge, stereolithography has yet to be applied to mass production of articles in volumes of thousands or millions, or employed to produce, augment or enhance products including other, pre-existing components in large quantities, where minute component sizes are involved, and where extremely high resolution and a high degree of reproducibility of results are required. In particular, the inventor is not aware of the use of stereolithography to fabricate protective layers for use on semiconductor devices, such as flip-chip type semiconductor devices or chip scale packages. Furthermore, conventional stereolithography apparatus and methods fail to address the difficulties of precisely locating and orienting a number of preexisting components for stereolithographic application of material thereto without the use of mechanical alignment techniques or to otherwise assuring precise, repeatable placement of components.